Pipe tongs



F. W. HARRIS PIPE ToNGs June 13, 1939.

Filed Nov. 26, 1958 FOP THE FIRM A Tree/vens.

Patented Juil@ 13, 1939 UETE PIPE TONGS Ford W. Harris, Los Angeles, Calif., assigner to Patco, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California Application November 26, 1938, Serial No. 242,498

2 Claims. (Cl. 81-186) 20 ture.

w35 as shown in Fig. 2.

My invention relates to pipe tongs and is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a set of such tongs;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal Sectio-n;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of a calk.

The invention may be applied to almost all ci the existing forms of pipe tongs, that shown m being selected merely for illustrative purposes.

In the form of tongs shown, Il is a handle having an eye l2 at one end and engaging pins i3 and it near the other end. The pin I3 is jcurnalled in a link l5 and the pin M. is journalled in a link i6. The links l5 and I6 are connected by a link ll which is engaged by and engages pins i3 and l. The link Il' may be engaged or disengaged by a handle 2t.

The form of tongs shown is a three-link struc- The number of links is unimportant and the method of connecting and disconnecting the link Il is unimportant. The tongs shown are constricted about a pipe 2l when the handle Il is rotated in a clockwise direction about the pin l5 I3, as will be readily understood by any person skilled in the art oi making or using such tongs. Since these are many forms of such tongs in common use and my invention may be applied to nearly all of them, Il consider it unnecessary to gointo further details in relation thereto. All that is necessary is that there shall be a plurality of links which are constricted about or forced inwardly toward the pipe 2i by a movement of the handle Il. Such tongs form no part of my T7 invention, being well known in the art.

My invention resides solely in the calks used and the method of actuating them. yThese .calks @il may vary in form, but that shown in Fig. 4 .is a useful form. This form comprises ,a cylindri- -it cal body Ei having a head 32 and a hardened point 33. In the assembly illustrated I use two sets 3l! and 36 of such calks and each set is made up of ve calks, as shown in Fig. 3.

Each of these calks is mounted in a sleeve 36, 'Each of these sleeves is threaded in a cylindrical cavity 3l in the body of one of the links of the tongs and the calk 30 lits closely in the bore of the sleeve and is free to :slide therein. The bottoms of all five cavities 31 i0 of each set 34 and 35 of callas 36 are all connected together by drilled holes 38 which are plugged as shown at 39 so that all these cavities .31 are connected to form a common enclosed cavity or space.

A standard high pressure grease gun fitting 4l is provided for each set 34 and 35 of calks 36, being so placed that grease may be forced therethrough into the common enclosed cavity or space. This grease is retained in the cavity by a l ball Valve ft2 which forms a part of the fitting 4l.

In assembling the device before the tting 4l is screwed in place each of the cavities 31 is lled with heavy grease before the sleeves 36 carrying the calks 3l) are screwed into place. As each of the sleeves 36 is screwed into place the heavy 10 The body of `grease acts as an equalizing means to insure that each of the five calks of each set 3i and 35 presses with equal force on the pipe when the tongs are constricted. Heavy grease seems to work very well but any liquid might be used, the term liquid being used in the claims -V to .denote any non-compressible fluid.

The liquid may also be used to increase or de-v crease the effective diameter of the tongs to make them lit various small changes in the diameter of the pipe 2i The eiiectiye diameter may be decreased by pumping a little more grease into the common cavity using a standard grease gun attached to the fitting il The diameter can be inf creased by putting the tongs in position and apiplying force through the eye l2, the ball of the valve 42 being unseated by using a toothpiclg, thus allowing grease to escape from thev common cavity.

In practice some smallleakage of grease around the calks 33 inside the sleeves 36 may be expected and this leakage is replaced by using the grease gun.

The calks 30 may `be of quite dierent form from those shown. I have found, however, that the sharp conical points are quite eiiicient, since under the high pressures used they penetrate the metal of the pipe 2i and produce agrip that will not slip. Since each of the calks has the same pressure on it, due to the equalizing action of the grease, each of them penetrates about the same distance and all of them are at all times equally eiective.

Since the total pressure exerted by each of the sets 34 and 35 is equally divided between five calks, there ,is no danger of any calk being subjected to excessive pressure which might injure the calk or the pipe.

In practice, I prefer to so adjust the amount of liquid in the common cavity that the calks 30, when the tong is under full tension, are in about the position shown in Fig. 2. When this tension is then released the pressure on the grease is also released, the grease being under substantially no pressure when the tongs are not in use.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a pipe tongs or the like having members adapted to surround a pipe or other cylindrical metal object to be gripped, the. combination of: a plurality of calks having sharp points; means for so mounting said calks in said members that they are free to move radially with relation to said cylindrical metal object in said members; means for equalizing the pressure on two or more of said calks so that they are pressed against the objeclJ with equal pressure; and means for constricting said members with sufficient force to drive said points into the substance of said object.

2. In a pipe tongs or the like having members adapted to surround a pipe or other cylindrical metal object to be gripped, the combination of z a plurality of calks having sharpy points; means for so mounting said calks in said members that they are free to move radially with relation to said cylindrical metal object in said members; means for so mounting said calks that they are forced inwardly with equal pressure by a conned body of liquid which acts equally on two or more of said calks; and means for constricting said members with suflicient force to drive said points into the substance of said object.

FORD W. HARRIS.

2,162,216 '3" f "ill .l 

